Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects an estimated 1.5 million people in the United States and 17,000 people in Connecticut. These numbers are extrapolated from the Census based on demographics since there is currently no lupus registry. More people have lupus than multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis combined.

Ninety percent of all individuals diagnosed with lupus are women and People of Color, African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians and Native Americans are two to three times more likely to develop lupus. As many as 1 in 250 African American women will develop lupus.

Only one in five Americans is aware of lupus symptoms and health effects. Young women ages 18-34 are least aware of lupus, yet they are the group most often affected.

Most people don’t realize they have a potentially disabling and life-threatening disease because symptoms , such as fatigue, skin rashes, joint pain and hair loss mimic other conditions, appear differently in different people, and can increase or decrease in severity from day to day.

There is no single test to diagnose lupus so it can take years to diagnose lupus. More than half of the people with lupus visited three or more doctors and suffered four or more years before being diagnosed.

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